Royal Academy of Arts presents - Second Nature: The Art of Charles Tunnicliffe RA

Tennant Gallery, Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly

11 July – 8 October 2017, Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 6pm

In July 2017, the Royal Academy will present Second Nature: The Art of Charles Tunnicliffe RA in the Academy’s Tennant Gallery. One of the best-known wildlife artists of the 20th century and an accomplished print-maker, Tunnicliffe won acclaim for his naturalistic depictions of birds and other wildlife. His subjects were meticulously observed but always depicted as a living part of the natural world, never as specimens.

The display will feature a selection of Tunnicliffe’s distinctive etchings and wood-engravings, some of which he presented to the RA following his election as a Royal Academician in 1954, as well as a set of watercolours that he exhibited at the RA Summer Exhibitions. Tunnicliffe was in great demand as a book illustrator, producing eye-catching artwork for Ladybird books, Faber and Faber and other popular publishers. There will be a selection of Tunnicliffe’s book illustrations including the 1932 first illustrated edition of Henry Williamson’s Tarka the Otter and What to Look For Ladybird series, as well as examples of his high quality commercial designs such as Brooke Bond tea cards. The Royal Academy’s display is timed to coincide with the publication of a comprehensive new catalogue raisonné of Tunnicliffe’s prints, written by print historians Professor Robert Meyrick and Dr Harry Heuser.

Second Nature: The Art of Charles Tunnicliffe RA will have a dedicated area for families where they can read Ladybird Books and take part in a number of activities. The Royal Academy will also hold a programme of events for families, including storytelling and a family studio where children will be able to draw from real life animals as part of Open House London.

To find out more visit the website.

Biography

Tunnicliffe was born in 1901 in Macclesfield but spent his early years living on a farm in Sutton, where he saw much wildlife. From 1916 he studied at the Macclesfield School of Art and Manchester School of Art, before winning a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in 1920 where he specialised in printmaking. In 1932 he illustrated Tarka the Otter for Henry Williamson. They continued to work together until 1935/6 when Salar the Salmon was published. Other publications include My Country Book, 1942, Bird Portraiture, 1945, How to Draw Farm Animals, 1947, the Mereside Chronicle, 1948. In 1949 Tunnicliffe was commissioned to produce scraperboard design for the title page of the Country Life Annual, which he continued to do this most years until 1972. In the 1960s he illustrated What to Look for in Winter / Autumn / Spring / Summer for Ladybird. Tunnicliffe was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1944 and a member in 1954. In 1978 he was awarded an OBE. Tunnicliffe lived and worked in Anglesey in Wales, until his death in 1979.

Below is Solway Company, purchased from Charles Tunnicliffe, R.A., 1944. Watercolour over pencil

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